Abstract
Suicide in adolescence is a worldwide issue, and it continues to present a serious problem in terms of its prevention. Among the various aspects of suicide, a very interesting area of research is represented by suicidal ideation. Recently, neuroimaging-based methods have made it possible to study the cognitive processes involved in several social situations and clinical conditions. This theoretical perspective article with an interdisciplinary approach integrates evidence from developmental psychology and social neuroscience with the aim of investigating the role of the brain area responsible for regulating negative emotions during the cognitive processes of suicidal ideation: the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. By highlighting the role of brain areas in the few studies published so far, it is possible to develop perspectives of considerable impact. Studying and understanding the role of brain areas involved in suicidal thoughts in adolescents could facilitate the creation of new perspectives on prevention programs and interventions.
Highlights
Worldwide, suicidal ideation (SI) is one of the two leading causes of death in adolescents in the 15–19-year-old age group (World Health Organization, 2014)
The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) function is given by its anatomical connections with other areas of the brain implicated in emotions
Social exclusion and emotion dysregulation related to anxiety and depression in adolescents are the most important predictive factors of SI or suicide attempts
Summary
Suicidal ideation (SI) is one of the two leading causes of death in adolescents in the 15–19-year-old age group (World Health Organization, 2014). The theoretical perspective aims to review the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex’s role and its association with risk factors, such as anxiety, depression, and social isolation, involved in adolescents experiencing SI thoughts. To date, few studies have investigated this research topic using neuroimaging methodologies in the form of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI; Groschwitz et al, 2016; Johnston et al, 2017). This lack is mainly due to the type of experimental sample required; the adolescent population is very difficult to recruit. Miller et al (2017) claimed that this is the principal reason why, to date, few studies have investigated and explored the neural correlates associated with the risk of SI
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